Looking up at the headwall on the way to Camp 2 (Photo: Jason Tanguay)

Phil called in this morning to report that the carry to High Camp went off without a hitch. The weather held out as expected and everybody did great yesterday ascending the 4000 linear feet of fixed lines to High Camp then descending back to C1.

Today they’ll catch up on their sleep and load up on calories before moving to High Camp tomorrow (Friday) with a possible summit day on Saturday.

After getting shut-down on Cotopaxi (weather) and Cayambe (avalanche hazard) and Illiniza Norte yesterday (thunder & lightning), Greg reports that the team gave Illiniza Norte another try today and summited at 10:30am this morning! Not a bad way to celebrate Romulo’s 50th birthday!

Illiniza Norte & Sur

They’re back at the hut that sits in the saddle between Illiniza Norte and Illiniza Sur having an early (well deserved) dinner then grabbing a few hours sleep before the 1:30am wake-up call to climb Illiniza Sur early tomorrow morning. These guys are tough!

Phil called in from Antarctica last night to report that he and his team moved to C1 (9500ft.) yesterday. Good weather and firm snow made for a great day.

More good weather is expected today for their carry to High Camp (12,500ft.) but the forecast takes a turn for the worse on Thursday which plays right into the team”s scheduled rest day. Only Phil could forecast Antarctic weather months in advance.

Greg called in to report that our Ecuador team stopped 400ft short of the summit of Illiniza Norte earlier today due to some significant lightning and thunder. All made it back to the refugio safely and will give it another shot tonight.

Phil Ershler called in to the IMG office to report from Antarctica at 3:15pm PST (8:15 pm Antarctica time).

Not a bad view.

The Mt. Vinson expedition is off to a great start! All arrived in Punta Arenas on time and with their luggage. They had a busy day sorting and packing then flew onto the ice on November 27th on schedule. The team spent one night on the Union Glacier at Patriot Hills then flew to Vinson Base on the 28th. They carried to Camp I today (November 29) and weather permitting will move up to Camp 1 tomorrow. The weather currently is very good and the entire team is healthy and happy. Phil will try to call in more regularly as he is able and as the team progresses up the mountain.

Guide Greg Vernovage reports the entire team is safely back in Quito after their attempt on Cayambe. Here is his report:

“Back in Quito. Cayambe was a tough go. We had to get dropped off well below the hut …. We got the 4X4 to help out shuttling people. Rain and snow on the way up to the hut.

A good night sleep by everyone. We did some training and a short hike up the rocks outside of the Refugio to get a look at the route.

What I noticed was how warm it was. After all the precipitation we had combined with the warmth I thought there might be some potential for slides higher up. We heard that there was a slide higher on the mountain that afternoon.

Woke up at 11pm and walked by 12:15. Weaved our way up the rocks and across some mellow terrain. Crampons on and roped up. About 30 minutes later, arrived at the avalanche path. Looked to be a wet slide. Good size path and firm. It was a very warm night. Walked about 10 minutes on the path, same as the climbing route…. Romulo and I stopped and talked about where the Avalanche might have originated and if there could be more (hazard) up higher.”

[The guides estimated the avalanche path to be 400 meters wide and 600 meters long, and were concerned about the additional potential for slides. They made the right call in deciding to turn the group back at this point. GD]

“We returned to the hut and caught a nap. Woke up at 8:30 to wind and a lot of snow blowing in. Got our gear together and loaded it into the 4X4 and made our way down.

More rain in the afternoon which is a pattern. Arrived at the Hotel in Quito. Everyone is happy and resting today.”

Some members are on their way home after the end of the normal program. There is continued concern about new snowfall in the mountains, and how it would affect the upcoming climb of Chimborazo. As a result, the remaining members have decided on an alternate plan proposed by the guides. Instead of attempting Chimborazo, they will attempt a climb of neighboring Iliniza Norte and Iliniza Sur over the next two days.

As reported to George Dunn in the office by trip leader Greg Vernovage.

While we were feeding our faces with Thanksgiving dinner and then again with the leftovers the following weekend, our team in Ecuador has been working hard!

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On Thanksgiving day the team left the refugio on Cotopaxi on a great summit day but as Greg said his “mountain senses” were tingling so they dug a snow pit to confirm what they were feeling. Sure enough they found faceted granules about 25-30 inches down on a layer of ice. This made turning around at 17,929ft a little easier…painful nonetheless. Not defeated, the team went horseback riding that afternoon then enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving dinner of their own.

They awoke at their hacienda to some light rain. Next up was Cayambe. As the rain turned to snow near the hut it became clear that the 4×4 jeeps were not going to be able to make it all the way to the hut – what’s a little load carrying amongst friends right? Summit night brought more and more snow with limited to no visibility so climbing Cayambe just wasn’t in the cards.

Good decisions behind them, they’re on their way back to Quito today so a couple team members can head back home on some scheduled flights while some others are stick around for the extension and possibly a climb of Chimborazo or an alternate mountain should Chimbo be unclimbable at the moment.

Greg reports that all is well in Ecuador. The team had a nice training day yesterday near the refugio on Cotopaxi. After a few solid hours of training (and acclimatizing) they dropped some gear at the hut before heading back down to Tierra del Volcan where they stayed for a second night.

They’re heading back up to the refugio today with hopes of climbing tonight. The weather is still a little questionable so they’ve brought along an extra day of food in case they have to wait out a little weather tonight.

Everybody is doing just fine, a few headaches but that’s normal for this altitude.

We’ll know more tomorrow, but until then you can track their progress when they start climbing here.

It must be about Thanksgiving time because I’m heading to Antarctica. That seems to be a holiday tradition for me. IMG Senior Guide, Aaron Mainer, and I leave for Punta Arenas, Chile early Tuesday. We’ll meet our team on Thanksgiving day and finish packing for our flight to Antarctica. 8 climbers are joining us on this expedition. Early season is my favorite. The mountain is fresh and fewer folks are there. Downside is that it’s a bit chilly. Heck, it’s Antarctica, what did we expect?

I’ll try to keep folks at home posted on our progress. All is done via satellite phone. Once we’re on the ice we’ll need 6 or 7 days of reasonable weather to get up and down the thing. We’ll keep you posted. Oh, have some turkey for us.

After meeting with our Ecuadorian partner, Romulo Cardenas, and walking through Old Town Quito on Friday, we set out for Otavalo. En route we met with long time IMG friend, Jose Cotacache, who was in the middle of weaving a great Ecuadorian wall hanging. A little bargaining later and we all set off with scarfs, blankets and other locally handcrafted souvenirs.

Once in Otavalo, Romulo took us to an old Hacienda where we enjoyed a great dinner. The following morning was spent explaining to the locals why we did NOT want to buy any livestock. After the farmers market, the team set off on their own to explore, eventually finding their way back to Hotel Otavalo through the Indian market. Otavalo behind us, we arrived back to Quito in the early afternoon and then the rain came down.

On Sunday we packed up and hit the road for an amazing breakfast at La Matilde, followed by our acclimatization hike of Pasochoa which was wet start to finish with hail on top. It has been raining more or less for the last 8 days here. We will see what that means for the mountains.

Oh yeah, on the way to Otavalo, we crossed the equator. Where we stopped to take it all in, well, that is the IMG secret. All I will say, nice find Phil and Romulo!

Off now to Hacienda Tierra del Volcan for showers, a good meal and some serious siesta. Cotopaxi awaits.